Politics & Government
COAH Plan Sets Sights on Riverfront, South Ave., Myrtle St.
Though on hold because of lawsuits, document foresees affordable housing opportunities
The riverfront redevelopment project, 555 South Ave. and a vacant tract of land on Myrtle Street will one day be home to affordable housing units, according to the township's Housing Plan Element and Fair Share Plan, approved and submitted to the state's Council on Affordable Housing at the end of last year.
“This plan begins to meet some of our needs, as calculated by the state," said Deputy Mayor Mark Smith, who also serves as a member of the Planning Board. “Inevitably there will be a fourth and fifth round, and you just get farther and farther behind.”
The plan, however, is currently on hold while the township navigates two lawsuits related to affordable housing, but township officials expect that once those lawsuits are resolved, the 78-page document will define Cranford's response to state mandates for affordable housing.
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COAH's first two rounds of regulations covered municipal obligations for low- and moderate income housing from 1987 through 1999. Its third cycle of regulations, now in effect, consist of three components:
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An obligation to rehabilitate overcrowded and deficient houses occupied by low and moderate income residents
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The total remaining obligation from the first two rounds of COAH
A growth share obligation, calculated by projecting the growth in the number of households and the number of jobs from 2004 through 2018
Cranford's rehabilitation obligation stands at 55 units, a figure determined by COAH. The township has rehabilitated units through the Union County Multi-Jurisdictional Housing Rehabiliation Program. While the program does not meet COAH's affordability controls, the township will explore hiring an outside consultant to assess whether it can receive credits for rehabilitated units documented to be occupied by low- and moderate-income households for a requisite period of time.
Cranford's obligation from the first two cycles of COAH stands at 148 units. The 100-unit Lincoln Apartment Senior Rental Project can defray 25 percent of that obligation, bringing it down to 111 units. In addition, municipalities may request an adjustment of that figure based on a lack of vacant, developable land.
An analysis found that Cranford's only vacant developable land is a parcel on 555 South Ave. and five parcels on Myrtle Street. This brings the township's “realistic development potential” to an 11-unit obligation, which will be through the 555 South Ave. Redevelopment Project.
The difference between the township's original 111-unit obligation and the RDP of 11 units is considered “unmet need” by COAH, and should be addressed with a development fee ordinance and a mixed-use overlay to encourage affordable housing in mixed-use buildings downtown.
Lastly, the township's growth share obligation stands at 66 units, derived from a household growth projection of 192 and an employment growth projection of 436. The township will meet that obligation through the following projects:
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The Lincoln Avenue Senior Apartment project
Affordable/municipally sponsored housing on a township-owned piece of property on Myrtle Street, which will be sold or leased to a nonprofit affordable housing provider
Supportive and special needs housing, in the form of a group home for developmentally disabled individuals, also to be located on township-owned land on Myrtle Street.
“The Township Committee is looking as creatively as possible to get the most affordable housing for our buck,” Smith said, noting that while a two-bedroom apartment may be worth one unit of affordable housing, a nine-bedroom group home that provides housing for people with special needs to count as nine units of affordable housing.
Public Affairs Commissioner Dan Aschenbach, who has been criticized for not supporting the filing of a third round plan when Democrats controlled the Township Committee, called the process time consuming and expensive. He was, however, supportive of many of the elements of the plan, including the plans for Myrtle Street.
“A number of organizations have come in and presented a plan to develop a group home,” he said. “We need to look at meeting the affordable housing needs of the community, rather than large-scale developments for developers to make a lot of money.”
Aschenbach's reference to developers looking to make money refers to the lawsuits that have been filed regarding 555 South Avenue and property on the 200-block of Birchwood Avenue, which will be discussed later in Cranford Patch's series on COAH.
Though Smith has been critical of COAH and its byzantine regulations, he doesn't expect Cranford residents to react negatively to projects outlined in the Housing Plan Element and Fair Share Plan.
“I think Cranford, as a community, likes to do the right thing,” he said. "Speaking as a resident, if I saw affordable or special needs housing going in, I would recognize that these people need a place to live. It would promote a sense of pride in my community."